


Not alone

by river_rose_writer_314



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Internalised Homophobia, Lesbian/bisexuals Reyna, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 06:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18654460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/river_rose_writer_314/pseuds/river_rose_writer_314
Summary: Set at the end of House of Hades before Nico, Reyna and Hedge leave with the Athena Parthenos.Jason is worried about Nico di Angelo. He decides to do something about it.





	Not alone

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or settings from Heroes of  
> Olympus, they all belong to Rick Riordan. I’ve just borrowed them for a bit. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER 2: This story contains discussions of internalised homophobia. Nothing especially graphic but feel free to skip this one if you need to. 
> 
> P. S. I am yet to read either the Trials of Apollo or Magnus Chase. I am aware that these characters are explored further in these books however I would appreciate if you didn’t spoil anything for me. Thanks!!

Jason Grace always liked to have a plan. It probably came with being a Roman demigod, and a former praetor at that. Of course, while on quests he couldn’t always be as prepared as he would like. And he couldn’t always find a perfect plan. This was one of those times. 

Usually he would just talk to Annabeth (whose brains he thanked the gods for) and she would know what to do. But he was sworn to secrecy. He would have to face this on his own. 

Just talk to him part of him said what’s the worst that could happen. Yeah, sure just walk up to the son of the underworld and say “Kiddo, we need to talk about your repression of your sexuality” what could possibly go wrong? 

Poor Nico. Jason had felt bad for the kid ever since he met him but now he felt even more obliged to do something for him. But he knew that the boy wouldn’t want to talk to him. Especially not on a ship with eight other half-bloods, when any of them could over hear. He would need to get them out of the way first. Slowly but surely, a plan began to form in his mind. 

“Alright guys listen up. I know we’ve had a rough time recently”. Understatement of the century. Jason’s friends looked back at him as if unsure of what he was doing. He couldn’t help but feel the same way. “So I think we should relax for a night. Watch a movie?”  
He looked around. All was silent for a moment until Leo burst out “YAY MOVIE NIGHT” and soon enough the others followed, if less enthusiastically. 

Jason’s eyes found Nico. He was looking at him like he suspected something about his plan but wouldn’t, or perhaps couldn’t say anything. 

The ship was quiet except for the crunching of popcorn and the sound of the movie projected from Leo’s make-shift speaker. It was dark save for the light of the screen. Now or never Jason thought, considering what gods he could pray to. Cupid perhaps, or Aphrodite. Venus. Whatever. 

“Nico,” he hissed. The boy jumped.  
“What?” His voice was barely audible.  
Jason beckoned and gestured to the door. Nico shook his head. Jason paid this no mind and instead turned to Piper, saying that he would do sentry duty-make sure there were no monsters and all that.  
He walked to the door. Nobody noticed his leaving, let alone the smaller boy who shadowed him. 

“What do you want, Grace?”  
“I thought you weren’t coming?”  
“Yeah, well, I wanna know what you’re plotting.”  
“Plotting?”  
“Yes. Plotting. What do you want with me?”  
“I want to go on a walk” Jason did his best to keep his voice nonchalant.  
“That’s it?”  
Jason was already making his way up to the deck of the ship, leaving Nico with no choice but to follow. 

“It’s a beautiful night,” Jason said, looking up at the stars.  
“Is that why you dragged me out here?”  
Now or never. “No.”  
“Then wh-“  
“We need to talk-“  
“No we don’t.” Nicos voice was a little too urgent to be natural  
“-about what happened. With Cupid.”

Nico turned to face him, meeting Jason’s eyes for what may have been the first time. “Listen. I don’t know what you’re up to, but what I said there stays between us. I don’t want the others finding out,” he looked away, as if he had said to much.  
Jason was silent for a moment, unsure how to proceed. 

“Well if you’re not going to talk, will you at least listen?”  
Nico said nothing, but didn’t move. Jason took a deep breath.  
“I-look. I know that you haven’t had it easy. This-what you said in the tomb of Diocletian has gotta be tough as well.”  
Nico blinked but said nothing.  
“I want you to hear this. There is nothing wrong with you. No matter what other people say or do or have said and done, you are perfectly natural. And I’m on your side no matter what, Kiddo.”  
Jason looked at Nico. He seemed to have not reacted. Then he looked closer at the tremor in his lower lip and the sparks in his eye. And then Nico Di Angelo didn’t look like a powerful demigod, like the prince of the dead. For that moment, he was a scared kid with nowhere to turn. 

Jason wanted to reach out and embrace him, but knew that would not be welcomed. So instead he pulled out a tissues and offered it to the boy. He accepted. 

The wind blew gently over the sea. For a moment neither of them spoke.  
“You know I was born in the 30’s?” Nico broke the silence. There was just the faintest hint of a smile on his face.  
“Yeah?”  
Nico took a deep breath. “It just makes it difficult-I felt so wrong, so alone. I still do in a way,”  
Jason didn’t know how to respond so he just nodded.  
“You’re not, you know.”  
“Hmm?”  
“Alone, I mean. You are like some of the greatest gods and heroes to have ever lived.”  
“Like zephyr?” Nico looked skeptical.  
“Like Apollo. Like Zeus. Like Poseidon. Like Hercules. Like-“ Jason paused for a moment, then continued. After all, she had told him it was no secret. “Like Reyna.”  
“Reyna?” Nico looked surprised, but contemplative, as if something was falling into place.  
“Yeah. You see Nico, you’re not so alone after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I’ve always felt that the scene with Cupid in House of Hades felt like it needed some follow up so here it is.


End file.
